Autopsy: Teen not impaired in March fatal chase in Salisbury

May 13, 2013

Written by

Staff Writer

The death of a 15-year-old boy following a pursuit by city police was accidental, according to the autopsy report.

The completed report, from the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, includes previously unknown details about how Jorgens Sydney died March 7 following a pursuit with Salisbury Police officers throughout downtown.

Sydney incurred severe injuries as a result of the single-vehicle crash into a utility pole on Camden Avenue, including hemorrhaging throughout parts of his skull, a fractured femur and a broken neck. There were also bruises and cuts of varying severity over several parts of his body, the autopsy found.

The teen had not been drinking prior to the accident and did not have any other impairing substances in his body, according to the autopsy report.

Sydney’s interaction with members of the Salisbury police department began around 10:15 p.m. on March 7 when two officers on patrol observed driving patterns they believed were consistent with a person under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

After following the Ford Contour he was driving for a little while, the officers turned on their lights, attempting to pull the car over.

Sydney, instead drove throughout sections of Salisbury, including Route 13 and Camden Avenue at speeds above the speed limit, refusing to stop at most stop signs and red lights.

When the Fruitland teen, did slow down on Waverly Drive, SPD Officer Timothy Robinson, a passenger in one of the SPD patrol cars, was able to stand next to the car.

“I pulled out my department-issued firearm and began ordering the driver to let me see his hands. I observed a black male who never made eye contact with me and (had) a blank facial expression. The driver made no attempt to acknowledge my orders, and began to drive off while I was standing next to his vehicle,” wrote Robinson in his letter recounting the incident to SPD commanders.

Sydney’s vehicle later crashed into a utility pole near the intersection of Camden Avenue and Pine Bluff Road.

The impact of the crash caused substantial injuries to the teen’s internal organs as well as fracturing his left femur, and multiple cuts and scrapes to his body, the autopsy found.

Salisbury Police Chief Barbara Duncan did not wish to comment on the autopsy report, because SPD does not yet have a copy of the report.

While the officers involved in the pursuit have been cleared of any criminal charges by Wicomico County State’s Attorney Matt Maciarello and have returned to work, SPD is still conducting an internal investigation.

Duncan said she is waiting for a copy of the autopsy report and a copy of Maryland State Police’s crash reconstruction report.